Tag: sailing life lessons

When I started this journey, it was solely for me so I saw no need to tell anyone except for Mom’s ofcourse who was surprisingly incredibly supportive considering she knew absolutely nothing about sailing.
I knew it was a foreign concept/sport to pursue especially to my immediate community and I didn’t want to deal with the question ‘Why sailing?’ because I wasn’t ready to answer that and to be honest I’m still not ready to answer the ‘why’ because it’s too deep to explain, I relate to Cousteau’s words perhaps I’m under a spell 😂😂😂.

“The sea, once it casts its spell , it holds one in its net of wonder forever.” — Jacques Yves Cousteau.

While I’m yet to answer the why question, I have shared pieces of my journey to a few. The reaction has been that of shock and eye-opening at the same time.

Shock, merely because it’s unheard of and the fear of the unknown sort of blinds people to see beyond their immediate environment. Eye-opening because it’s been a confirmation for many that we all have the ability to overcome our fears and live our dreams so people start re-looking at their lives and tell me stories of situations where they were crippled by fear hence the endless list of dreams deferred. So in way, it’s like, if Lungi can be this determined and daring so can I.

These reactions are exactly the same from my 12 year old niece to the elderly that I have conversed with.

Fast forward to a conversation I had this afternoon with a former business associate who said, it’s not fair to keep my journey a secret because it is a lesson and a revelation to many :

It’s okay to pursue your dreams, they don’t have to make sense to anyone but you.

Nothing is impossible

Make fear your motivation, don’t let it cripple you. Rather die trying than live with regret.

I suppose I was so focused on Lungi that I overlooked the possibility of inspiring others in their respective journeys by sharing. Funny because, besides my immediate community I served a global basketball fraternity in development where I actually have a big following and by sharing my new journey I indirectly unlock a stream of self-reflection thoughts which could essentially lead others to pursue their own dreams.

My basketball protege once said to me ‘Lungi your talent lies in your ability to bless others, sometimes it’s the few words you share that resonate with the people you interact with and other times it is through your actions that people question why they aren’t doing more either for themselves or their communities’. I am only beginning to understand what he meant, 5 years later.

Sailing is more than just a sport to me, it literally introduced me to a side of myself that I never knew existed. It feels like I’m getting to know myself and the world around me for the first time, with a new set of eyes. The lessons don’t end at sea. I keep learning every single day, I am thoroughly enjoying the journey as crazy & unheard of as it may be, it’s brought me that deep, quite kind of peace and longing.
Sure there have been moments of doubt, rejection but this time they don’t affect me as they used to, if anything they’ve made me more determined and have become my motivation to do better and perfect my art.

Kenneth – Narinan ES once said ‘In search of individuality I found the universe’ in his short film. I was almost in tears at the Sail In Festival Bilbao because those words hit home, that is exactly how I feel about sailing.